jane read

Summary: When Buster begins hearing strange sounds over Elwood City, he just knows it’s aliens, and soon evidence confirms that this is true. Unfortunately when fiction becomes truth, things rarely go well, and soon all of Earth is involved in an alien war. What happens when the bad guys try to take over? Find out in Invasion. Not yet posted to ff.net.

CHAPTER ONE: SOUNDS OVER THE CITY

It was lunch time at Lakewood Elementary, and students had gathered around their lunch tables to enjoy Taco Tuesday. Arthur sat with Buster, Brain, Francine, and Muffy at a table near the window, but it was clear that something was up just by looking over the trays. As most trays cleared at a steady pace, Buster Baxter’s tray remained mostly full, which told everyone there was a huge problem with their friend.

“Nah, you can have it,” Buster replied, causing a hush to spread over the table. Muffy stopped mid-laugh to give him a confused look as all eyes fell on him. Buster blinked, “What? I’m just not that hungry today.”

Summary: A mysterious parasite has infected the water supply of Atlanta and spread to other parts of the country. How do people react when the parasite’s effect is seen on live television? Or when they realize their favorite brand of soft drink is bottled in the outbreak zone? No relation to my other Outbreak piece. Can also be found here on ff.net.

Jane was getting breakfast ready in a large pan, a carton full of empty egg shells beside her. David yawned as he poured his and Jane’s cup of coffee before turning towards the toaster. It spit out four pieces of toast, his signal to retrieve them, butter the slices, and add four more.

Summary: A flu outbreak comes to Elwood City. At first everyone sees the illness as a normal seasonal thing, but then the news of death reaches everyone, and the entire world realizes this is no normal flu. Can also be found here on ff.net.

Coughing. Coughing from everywhere. At first it was just another sound, a sound people were used to hearing anyway. But then we realized there was too much of it. Flu season was starting too early and lasting too long, and then the CDC revealed the truth: This strain was different, and it was going away any time soon.

Summary: A storm of epic proportions is building in the Midwest and tearing eastward. As Lakewood’s third grade class heads to camp, this epic monstrosity comes barreling towards their home. Can anyone survive? Can also be found here on ff.net.

CHAPTER FOUR

As rain began to fall in Elwood City, there wasn’t a single smile on anyone’s faces. Meteorologists, red-faced and breathless, were shouting on every channel for people to take cover and prepare for the worst. Nothing like this system had ever been seen before, and they wanted to make sure everyone, even aliens on nearby planets, knew that this was the most horrible thing they’d ever seen. Even geologists, scientists of rocks, were brought in on some networks to explain how no evidence had even been found of an event like this.

Summary: A storm of epic proportions is building in the Midwest and tearing eastward. As Lakewood’s third grade class heads to camp, this epic monstrosity comes barreling towards their home. Can anyone survive? Can also be found here on ff.net.

CHAPTER TWO

The storm was epic. That was the only way any newscaster could describe it, even the licensed meteorologists on The Weather Channel. A convergence of systems, three lows in total, meeting in the Midwest. The northern-most storms would ravage Minnesota and the upper peninsula of Michigan, while the lowest reaches would flood central Mexico, ravaging already poor neighborhoods and killing thousands. Such a thing happened in winter, systems stacking across the continent and reaching far south. But that was usually rain or snow, or a combination of both, not severe storms with more power than they had ever seen before.

Summary: A flood is headed to Elwood City. While the children don’t know what to make of it, the adults have a good idea of what’s about to go down…yet even they will be wrong. First story for my new Disasters series. Can also be found here on ff.net.

CHAPTER THREE

Jane was dirty and frazzled as she picked Arthur up. DW and Kate were in the backseat. DW was singing along loudly to the radio, her voice off key and most of the words were wrong. Kate ignored her completely, gurgling as she played with a teething ring in her fingers. Arthur buckled into the front and looked up at his mother. Her eyes were set straight ahead, her eyes reflecting the windshield wipers moving back and forth. Taillights from the stopped bus in front of them caught Arthur’s attention and he looked ahead again.

Jane’s medication wasn’t working. Over-the-counter medication wasn’t made to help you overcome the amount of pain she was in, but Jane knew she couldn’t get any more pills. She’d have to manage without them, and since chores needed to be done, she’d just have to power through.

Jane moved into the kitchen and tackled the dishes first, then she carried a laundry basket into the den to begin folding. This was where David found her as he entered the home for lunch and to change into a dressier uniform. He put his car keys next to the door and looked up to see his wife sitting on the couch with a pained look on her face.